Subaquatic drill



April 8, 1930. w. D. GRAN-r' SUBAQUATIC DRI-LL Filed Apri] 13, 1927 Patented Apr. 8, V1930 UNITED STATES PATENT-"OFFICE y SUBAQUATIC fDBLLL A Application Vlednprl 13,

This invention relates toa subaquatic drill y.of that class exemplified in Letters Patent No. 1,51( ,556 bearingdate December 2, 1924, wherein the drill head issecured to the lower end of a.relatively heavy Atubular drill rod, which is lifted and allo-wed to fall, or is driven down, and bythe momentum of its downward movement effects the cutting of the rock or other material in which it is required to drill.

As at present practised, a tubular casing encloses the drill tube to above water level and water under pressure is delivered to the drill through the centre ofthe drill tube and l5 ows upward through the drill holeand through the casing, which-rests on the upper edge of the drill hole, to be delivered through apertures in thevcasingtube a short distance above its lower end.

While this water flow is quite effective in carrying out the detritus from the drill while working in certainmaterial, it is not suflicient to properly carry away `fragments of rock under certain conditions and involving other material.

In the drill, which is the subject of this application, I convey the water to the drill end, either through the. casing and drill hole or through the hollow drill rod or through a separate pipe, or a separate duct in ther drill tube, and deliver the waterwiththedetritus from the drill upward through the hollow of the drill tube where the cross sectional area being less than that between the drill rod and its casing, the flow is strong. enough to carry rock fragments with it to or towards 4 the surface where they'are discharged.

It is necessary that the casing makes a.

tight joint at the upper edge of the drill hole and the hole at this pointis generally of enlarged diameter and tapering before the drill has found its own centre and into this taperinghole the casingtelescopically drops from one to six feetand sealsitself, and Vthis prevents any material or detritus from flowing back into the hole. A hole or holes are left in the casing at .such a height :above ground as may l be udged ,to :be '.suiiicient to take care of the detritus that may be discharged from the hole.

1827. Serial No. 183,567.

In delivering water tothe drillhead -I make use ofa glandular water-box through which the drill'rod passes, andthat portion of the drill rod operating in the water-boxfis 'pierced with holes equidistant around itsff outer periphery to permit of waterentering Vthe drill rod.

On some work it isnecessaryito use a special drill steel with two internal ducts and two waterboXes, one boxmounted above an' i60 other, each-water-box registering With ports i or holes in the drill rodto one of the internal ducts. Such an arrangement is necessary when drilling in ground Ywhereit is necessary vto carry oncontinuousjetting operations at 165 the drill head and continuousV suction.

To further facilitate the removal of the detritus I induce either in asteady opera- 4tionor intermittently an upwardliowof-water through the drill 4rod-by connecting the-70 upper endto a source of vacuum, Vor byapplying what is known as a sipho'n ejectorto `the delivery fromtheupperend of the drill tube, i or preferably vby Y applying the v Siphon ejector tothe lower end of thed'rill tube'i5 close -to the drill end, or fby a duct within the hollow drill rod having aninverted end orifice near the drill yface so ythat water under -pressure may be broughtftothe lower end of the drill rod vand discharged inan upwardiSO direction, so creating avacuum conditionv and therebyfdisturbing the detritus settledv there which is put in motion with-the upward flow.

The :particular means by whichthese several ideas are carried into Vpractical effect are-'585 ,fullyset forth in the following specification,

A'refere'ncebeing made to the drawings by which it is accompanied,in which:

Fig. 1 is a'longitudinal sectional elevation... f ofmy `drill rod, casing, water-box (or glandular chamber) giving suitable accessvto the interior of the drill rod, `together with the other` accessories in connection.

Fig. 2 isa similar view of the drill'rod and 95 one internalduct, and delivery outlet direct from-the rod.

3 is asimilar view of the drill ,rod with two internalfducts. y Y .Eiggflris ayplan vof oneofthe drill lfacesloo which I employ in connection with the various devices.

Fig. 5 is a section of the special drill rod :formed with a double duct.

In these drawings 2 represents a relatively heavy drill tube having a drill head 6 removably connected to its lower end. The central portion of this head is apertured to correspond approximately with the bore of the tube 5 and the cutting edges of the drill project beyond both the outer and the inner adapted to make a close joint on the ground around thedrill hole. A water-box (or glandular chamber) 9 surrounds the drill rod and` is gland-packed to meet the required pressure.

The outer wall of the water-box 9 is pierced by three oritices veach closable by a stop valve as shown. One of these 1() is for water under pressure, another 11 for the vacuum ejector 12, and the third 13 forattachment to a vacuum pump. j

Connection ybetween the interior of the water-box and the interior of the drill rod is by one or more holes 14 preferably three in number. Water under pressure is delivered at 10 and Hows down through the tubular drill rod to the drill face 15 emerging through the drilled hole into the casing k7 and'thence escaping over the top edge, or

`being withdrawnby the action of the vacuum condition through either of the orifices 11 or 13, the inflow through 10 being meanwhile cut 0E atthe valve 16, the operation in the latter case being'of an intermittent character and is eiiicacious when the drill is Vworking in heavymaterial causing rapid clogging of the outflow apertures. A suitable power pump is indicated at 17 united by the flexible connection 18i to the water inlet valve 16.

The vacuum ejector 12 is supplied with suitable fluid pressure through the pipe 19 loonnectedwith the jet nozzle 20. Y

. Figure 2 indicates an arrangement in which the water-box? 9 is dispensed with, water under pressureV being delivered (through the duct 21 at an opening in the drill rod permitted by a pierced coupling as shown at 22 in Fig. 3 on other suitable devices) throughthe drill head by the duct 23 to the drill face .15 whence it iiows back through the central aperture 24 up through the lhollow drillrod to emerge at the outlet 25.

'65 7Figure 3 shows my method of water jetting the cutting face intermittently with a sluicing operation, in which water under pressure is delivered through a duct 21 to adj acently of the drill face 15 and at intervals depending upon the character of the work, sluioing away the detritus by the delivery of water under pressure through the duct 26 to and through theupturnedj et27 wherebythrough the kinetic action of the upward water flow, a vacuum condition is set up in the vicinity of the drill face 15 disturbing the cuttings and causing the same to be carried away by the iow;

Under circumstances demanding the sluieing operation to be carried on simultaneously with the working of the drill rod aniinterrupted coupling of the general type shown at 22 in Figure 3 wouldbe unsuitable and would need to be used iii-connection with a gland-packed water-box of the type shown at 9 in Figure ,1, but where the two ducts are in use a double chambered water-box will, of course, be essential, both in the case of removable conduits such as 26 andY 21 and also in the case of using the hollow drill rod A shown in Figure 5 with the duplex bore.

cutting action before being forced up 'the v" central aperture. These inwardly projecting portions are materially strengthened by the curved web on each side of each projecting cutter formed by piercing a Vlateral web by the circular holes shown in Figure 4.

Havingnow particularly described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to be protected in by Letters Patent, is

In a subaquatic drill the combination with a tubular drill rod to which an endwise reciprocating movement is imparted and to the lower end of which drill rod the drill head is. secured, of two longitudinal ducts within the longitudinal aperture of the said drill rod andi extending from the drill head to above water level, one ot said ducts jetting water under pressure to adjacent the cutting face ofsaid drill head, and the other said duct terminating in an'upturned orifice adjacent 1 the head of the drill, the said upturned ori-1 tice -being adapted to deliver water under pressure upwards Atrom the bottom end of the said drill rod whereby the efficiency of the upward wateriiow carrying the detritus from the vicinity of the cutting face may beimprovedl In testimony Ywhereof I aliix my signature.

WILLIAM'DUNCAN GRANT. 

